The present invention provides a roofing and siding system employing a plurality of planar sheets which are clipped to a building and interconnected by battens to form the exposed surface of a building.
A wide variety of systems are known in which the roofing or siding of a building is constructed by joining together a plurality of elongate planar sheets. For example, such systems are shown in the patent to Huntington, U.S. Pat. No. 2,855,871; the patent to Mackey, U.S. Pat. No. 3,335,537; and the patent to Gyekis, U.S. Pat. No. 3,376,680. These systems generally utilize a plurality of elongate planar sheets which are placed side-by-side to form the exposed surface of a building. Battens are snapped over adjacent edges of the respective sheets to provide a weatherproof covering. Such systems have become quite popular but certain problems have arisen in the use of such systems. It has been found with known devices of this type that rain water tends to seep upwardly along the inside surfaces of the battens. The adjacent edges of the sheets do not actually contact one another under the battens so that the water is allowed to pass between the sheets and the weatherproofing provided is not as effective as desired. In addition, difficulties are encountered when attempts are made to place the sheets around adjacent non-coplanar surfaces, such as at the peak of a roof. Battens found in the prior art cannot negotiate such corners, leaving a break or seam at which the weatherproofing may fail. Also, the sheets are attached to the building using elongate, continuous fasteners. When the system is exposed to the sun, differential expansion can occur and the sheets may buckle.